Raith Rovers: Boss Murray reveals squad is decimated for cup semi-final at Dundee tonight

“It would mean a lot to me and the players to get to the final,” Murray told the Fife Free Press.

"We don’t care what cup it is, we want to try and get as far as we can and win as many games as we can.

"Unfortunately we’re very, very thin in our squad, we are extremely light which is very similar to Queen’s Park in the last round.

"We’ll give it our best shot and we need to try and defend the competition.”

Rovers’ run to the semi-finals has seen them defeat Cove Rangers 1-0 away in the third round on September 24 before winning 4-2 in a home fourth round penalty shootout success over Greenock Morton on December 10 following a 1-1 draw.

Murray’s team’s most impressive result of their Challenge Cup campaign came in their quarter-final tie at Championship title contenders Queen’s Park on January 11, when a single goal by now departed striker John Frederiksen booked their last four spot.

If Raith get through against Dundee, their final opposition will be Hamilton Accies, who recorded a 2-1 home success after extra time against Queen of the South in the first semi-final on Tuesday evening.

The Challenge Cup has been a successful competition for Raith over the years as they have won it on three separate occasions.

The Kirkcaldy outfit first landed the crown in the 2013-2014 with a stunning 1-0 final success over Rangers in front of almost 20,000 fans at Easter Road Stadium in Edinburgh.

After sharing the cup with fellow finalists Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the foreshortened 2019-2020 campaign after the tournament was halted early due to coronavirus, Raith won it last season courtesy of a 3-1 final victory over Queen of the South in front of almost 4500 fans at Airdrie’s Excelsior Stadium.